Gov. Bobby Jindal's latest requests from President Obama and the federal government involve approval of a seafood safety plan developed by his administration. Gov. Bobby Jindal's latest requests from President Obama and the federal government involve approval of a seafood safety plan developed by his administration. In a press release yesterday, Jindal revealed he asked the President personally about approving the plan to try to ensure the continued integrity of Louisiana seafood in the wake of the nation's worst oil spill along its coast.
Jindal says the plan has three components: an in-state lab to monitor seafood for hydrocarbons and other chemicals, a seafood certification program similar to USDA certification, and an extensive consumer behavior study and marketing plan. All told, the cost of the program amounts to $457 million over 20 years.
"I want to be very clear about this point," Jindal says in the release, "this is a fraction of what our industry will lose year after year if we do not employ a full-scale comprehensive marketing and testing effort to revive our industry immediately and tell the world now that Louisiana seafood will continue to be the best in the world."
President Obama will give a primetime address to the nation tonight regarding the oil spill at 7 p.m.